The Daughters of Nimue and the Return of Morgana
by Kathryn Winters
Summary: Sequel to Arrogance and Mischief. Please read that before reading this story as you will be missing the first 4 years at Hogwarts! More drama, romance and life ensues as Morgana returns to reclaim the magical world. R&R Please!


**A/N: So this is the sequel to Arrogance and Mischief. If you have not read that one this story will be some serious story spoilers so continue at your own risk!**

**I own nothing but my own characters the rest belongs to the wonderfully and glorious JK Rowling**

Chapter 1

The summer proved difficult for Kathryn and her friends. Tiffany spent a long time fighting her parents so she could return to Hogwarts and after a long time of pleading was taken in by Katlynn's family near the end of the summer. She would have moved in with Kathryn's family but the Malfoys had strict rules for whom they were allowed to associate themselves with. Katlynn herself spent the summer in America leaving her unable to send many letters to her friends which left Kathryn more stranded than it did Tiffany.

Kathryn was able to spend most of the summer interning with her Uncle Charlie and the mischievous dragon Fate which proved to be problematic when Seth Thornton showed up for a month in the middle of the summer. Things had already been tense for her with Scorpious recovering from his bludger to the head during the last Quiditch game of the year which had Draco more than a little mad though he hadn't hit her again.

With the summer approaching its end though Kathryn was able to return home to her family rather than the Malfoys and much to her surprise when they went for their annual trip to Diagon Alley she ran into her friends at the bookstore.

"HEY!" Katlynn called as she ran down the street, "I haven't seen you in forever!" she said flinging her arms around her friend's neck.

"Missed you too," Kathryn laughed hugging her friend back, "Your hair is shorter," she noticed.

"Ya it's all the rage in America," Katlynn laughed, "Like the purple tint?"

Kathryn looked a little closer at her friend's hair and noticed, when the light caught strands, that her hair now had a purple undertone, "That all the rage in America too?" she laughed.

"No, this was just cool," Katlynn replied, "I'm trying to get Tiff to do something with hers. I mean how does she deal with her hair so long?"

"I heard that," Tiffany laughed slinging an arm around Kathryn's shoulder, "What's up witch?"

"That something she taught you from America too?" Kathryn laughed.

"Well the term they use is "what's up bitch" but I thought it'd be funnier since we're witches," Tiffany smiled.

"So how's your summer been? Sorry I haven't been able to write. We should all really look into the muggle's computers and internet. It's a lot faster than an owl," Katlynn said.

"Computer?" Kathryn asked, "Internet?"

"Tiffany moved in with me remember, plus I spent months in America…" Katlynn said smiling.

"I wanted an explanation Kat, not that Tiffany moved in with you!" Kathryn laughed.

"Computers are electronic devices kind of like the typewriter but better and the internet is like a connection of all that. I don't even know if I should bother explaining the television," Tiffany laughed.

"Oh no, I know what a television is. My grandfather is obsessed with them," Kathryn said, "But computers and internet are new things to me."

"We'll fix that when we can," Tiffany said.

Kathryn was glad to finally see her friends but when she looked a little ways up the street she saw two blonde heads and wished more than anything that she would be allowed to borrow her uncle's invisibility cloak. She wasn't supposed to be associating herself with Tiffany anymore and she really didn't want another slap. "We'll have to talk later. I'll see if I can't get away from my nightmare on the train," she said shuffling off into the bookstore after her family.

Unfortunately when she did get on the train she wasn't able to get away to see her friends, but she was at least able to get away from the nightmare of Scorpious and his friends. She thanked her lucky stars that she'd been named co-captain of the Slytherin Quiditch team meaning whenever the captain wanted to have a word she was suddenly available with loads of free time. It didn't hurt either that the captain was none other than Seth Thornton whom she'd secretly dated the previous year behind her fiancé's back. But on the train they had to have a meeting to discuss tryouts. Some of their previous teammates had either graduated or had decided they didn't want to be on the team this year so they were left with Albus, Scorpious and themselves on the team.

The discussion didn't last as long as Kathryn would have liked but it gave her a chance to sneak away just before the train stopped off at Hogwarts so she was able to seek out her friends for the carriage ride to the school.

"So did the devil let you come and visit or did you sneak away since its spring?" Tiffany joked as Kathryn snuck into a group waiting for the carriage.

"He's not _that_ bad," Kathryn replied.

"Katie, his father _hit_ you," Tiffany replied, "You were bleeding during that Quiditch game and it wasn't because of any bludgers."

"Yes, Tiffany, his _father_ did hit me. He on the other hand did not," Kathryn replied, "He has yet to do anything so stupid."

"He slips up again and I'm sending Mr. Slithers into his bed and he will wake up without balls," Tiffany threatened.

"Fine by me if you do it now," Kathryn replied, "If I'm stuck with him for the rest of my life then I'd rather not bear him children."

"Okay, guys really, stop with the negatives please. It's a new school year and it's going to get better," Katlynn said.

"That's the other thing," Kathryn said, "My cousin said you two were dating or something?"

"He had written me a letter asking me out," Katlynn said, "I told him maybe but that was at like the beginning of the summer."

"AND?" Tiffany laughed.

"And he didn't even write me another letter," Katlynn said blushing, "I dunno, maybe he chickened out."

"Well I don't think he chickened out if Kathryn just heard that you two were dating," Tiffany snickered.

"Shut up," Katlynn said blushing.

At the opening ceremonies that night there were some frightening announcements. Professor McGonagall stood before everyone in her usual spot, "I would like to stress the importance of staying out of the Forbidden Forest this year. We have heard reports of packs of werewolves entering the area as well as other equally dangerous creatures. Also I would advise you to be indoors with your lunches as there have been reports of dragon herds becoming more aggressive and our food attracts them. On another note I would like to encourage any of you who find a green feather quill to report it to me immediately. I have lost my enchanted quill that allows me to know which young witches and wizards to send letters to each year. I have enchanted another quill for the time being but it is important that I get it back."

Kathryn exchanged a look across the table with Seth. Her Uncle Charlie hadn't mentioned dragon herds becoming more aggressive. In fact he hadn't mentioned the fact that there were dragons in the area travelling in herds. It was odd that the werewolves would be gathering so close to Hogwarts as well considering they only changed during the full moon and should then wake up in the morning to realize where they were quickly turning tail and leaving the area. It worried Kathryn in fact; the Forbidden Forest was where she and Seth escaped the drama of life in Slytherin House and practiced transfiguration.

When they were dismissed from dinner Kathryn took a shortcut back to the Slytherin common room arriving before most other students. She was almost as late as the first years the previous year and wanted to make sure she got her favorite spot next to a window looking into the Black Lake. Fey was waiting on the bedpost as she entered the room cleaning his black feathers. "Saving my spot there?" she asked stroking his back with a single finger. He almost seemed to purr at her touch which she loved about her raven familiar. He usually hated to be down in the dungeons under the lake but ever since her fight with Scorpious last year he hadn't really left her side, even while she had spent time with Fate whom he didn't get along with.

Patricia, a fellow Slytherin, took the bed next to Kathryn's. She was a second year but was one of the more tolerable people that Kathryn had to put up with on a daily basis. She assumed that Patricia would be trying out for the Quiditch team this year with the skill set that she'd achieved last year on a broom but she wasn't sure.

"Is it hard?" Patricia asked startling Kathryn from her thoughts.

"Is what hard?" Kathryn asked puzzled.

"Loving someone who you can never be with. I saw you last year with Thornton… but you're engaged to Malfoy right?" Patricia replied.

"I don't know if I'm in love with him," Kathryn replied, "But he's definitely a right side better than Malfoy."

"You're not even on a first name basis with your fiancé?" Patricia asked surprised.

Kathryn laughed, "Oh no I am. I just don't like giving him the pleasure. I'm hoping one day it'll mean that he'll figure out that he's better off with someone else before the wedding day. Why are you asking me all this?"

Patricia blushed, "I'm betrothed too. Just this year actually but he's at Durmstrang for school. I just kinda like this Ravenclaw boy that tutored me in History of Magic last year."

Kathryn smiled, "And your parents wouldn't approve?"

Patricia smiled back, "He's muggle born."

Kathryn knew because of Christmas parties at the Malfoy's that Patricia was a pureblood and her parents were definitely purists when it came to magical families but Patricia had hinted last year that she was just fine with muggle borns or half-bloods and that because they had to work to prove themselves that they were actually better than purebloods. "I'm sorry," Kathryn said finally sitting on the edge of her bed, "I wish there was something we could all do to be happy without listening to the old traditions of our parents."

"Me too," Patricia said.

Kathryn spent the next hour talking with Patricia. She still sided on snobby like the other Slytherins but at least she could talk freely about how she felt about her friends and such without feeling judged unlike so many of the other Slytherin girls. After that hour Kathryn showed Patricia her reading corner that had been kept from year to year since her first year. The only people she'd allowed within throwing distance of this area had been Seth and Albus but she found that with the chance of running into Scorpious she tended to study in the room on her bed rather than out in the common room. It saved her some heartache too when both Seth and Scorpious were in the room and she was not allowed to converse with Seth unless it was Quiditch related.

The first few weeks passed uneventfully. Albus had yet to talk to Katlynn since his letter some months ago to her. She'd dated some random American boys over the summer and hadn't kept contact with them and she really did think Albus was cute. She loved the way that his white shirt clung to slim muscles and the cardigan that he wore over it was so nerdy that it was hot, but mostly she loved that he had a knack for Magical Creatures and thus they would have had something to talk about had he actually been conversing with her.

She would have confronted him about it besides the fact that he was avoiding her and she would have asked one of the other guys in her circle of friends but seeing as she'd dated some already she wasn't sure how they'd take it. Especially Lysander who seemed to be a little sore still since their breakup last year. So she turned to her best friend in Slytherin, Kathryn. Being that Kathryn was his cousin she probably had some insight into the matter, or could at least talk to him comfortably where she could not.

"Hey," Katlynn said as she slipped into the seat beside her friend in transfiguration class.

"Hey," Kathryn replied looking confused at first and then smiling, "You're having boy trouble with my cousin aren't you?"

Katlynn blushed, "If by trouble you mean he avoids me every time he sees me then yes. You know I haven't spoken to him since the year started?"

"Oh I know," Kathryn laughed, "It's just funny that it has you of all people ruffled. I thought maybe you'd have moved onto someone else by now and things would go back to normal."

"Well it hasn't," Katlynn said, "And I really like Albus."

"Then tell him that Kat," Kathryn replied setting a hand on her friend's shoulder, "It's not like he's a dark wizard who's going to control your every action if you don't follow his orders."

"Scorpious being an ass again?" Katlynn asked.

Kathryn shook her head, "No more than usual. I don't even know why that was the first idea that popped into my head."

"I wish he could see how unhappy you are and leave you be," Katlynn said, "Makes my problems seem like a paper cut verses a slit throat."

"Hey, that's not fair. Just because my life issues seem more severe doesn't mean yours are miniscule," Kathryn replied.

"That's not what I was talking about and you know it," Katlynn said, "Come on Katie, isn't there something that we can do to get him to I dunno, give you a night off or something?"

Kathryn laughed, "Ya because I can take a night off of being a pureblood engaged to another pureblood."

"Maybe if I distracted him with my amazing womanly charm…"

"Hell no. Kat, you are not allowed to seduce Malfoy just to get me a night of peace. If I find out you did you'll have hell from me," Kathryn snapped.

"Bloody hell Katie, it was just a suggestion," Katlynn said.

The next day Katlynn noticed that Kathryn came in smiling before she took her usual seat next to her friend. "Do you love me or do you bloody love me?"

Katlynn looked at her friend with caution, "What did you do?"

"I talked to Albus of course. He's been afraid that you were kidding when you agreed to go out with him in that letter and so he didn't want to make it any more awkward than he thought it already was. You have a date tonight," Kathryn said grinning at her friend, "So how much do you love me?"

"You have no bloody idea!" Katlynn said hugging her friend.

"Great! Because next week we have a double date. I gave it quite a bit of thought what you said yesterday about something you could do and I came to the realization that the more I pull away from the little bastard the more he clings on. So I thought maybe I'd pretend for a week to be the perfect fiancé. But at the end of the week if he still sucks I'm done and we're digging in the restricted section of the library for some way to either get me out of this bloody engagement or some way to kill him without anyone finding out," Kathryn said whispering the last part into Katlynn's ear so none of the other students would hear.

"You're insane. Bloody insane," Katlynn said, "But you're also quite possibly bloody brilliant."

After classes Albus met Katlynn just outside the castle. He'd brought flowers and his messy raven hair was sexier than normal. Katlynn didn't normally swoon over guys but with the way Albus looked she thought she might.

"I've got an evening planned out but I was just curious what you'd like to do," Albus said handing her the flowers and brushing a soft kiss on her hand.

"I know it sounds weird but I'd really like to see you fly," Katlynn said blushing.

"You want a lesson or you just want to watch my amazing skills?" Albus laughed.

"I'm a fair flyer," Katlynn replied, "I just don't make a sport out of it like some people."

"How about we put your skills to the test then?" Albus said taking her hand and leading her toward the Quiditch field.

She proved to be adequate on a broom but nothing compared to the skills Albus had obtained as the Slytherin Seeker. He asked her to try a few tricks that were simple enough only to have her almost fall from her broomstick.

On a particularly nasty would-be fall he ended up catching her and helping her regain her balance. "Are you this way with all the ladies?" Katlynn asked as Albus guided their brooms to the safety of the ground.

"What ladies?" Albus asked, "You're the first girl I've ever had the courage to ask out."

Katlynn blushed. Not for embarrassment at the fact that she was the first girl that Albus had dated but rather the fact that she couldn't count her boyfriends on one hand anymore. "Well that was sweet none the less," Katlynn said giving him a quick kiss on the cheek as if she were shy though in this moment she almost felt shy.

The rest of the night Katlynn taught Albus some of the pureblood traditional dances. He was awkward on his feet at first but after he got a hang of the dance steps it was like he'd been a dancer his whole life.

The following week was the double date that Kathryn had promised her friend and cousin. They were all headed off to Hogsmead and as Kathryn had told her friend she behaved like a pureblood was supposed to. She acted like a lady and took Scorpious's arm whenever it was presented and even sometimes when it wasn't just for good measure. Kathryn knew she probably looked strange but Scorpious had paid her a little less attention in the past week which was more than enough good news for a week.

But when they stopped for lunch Katlynn pulled her aside. "Don't you think you're going a little overboard?" she asked Kathryn.

Kathryn smiled, "It's only overboard when I have to kiss him and I haven't had to do so yet so please don't go bringing it up, or for that matter kissing my cousin, please."

"If you're sure you know what you're doing," Katlynn said, "It just doesn't look natural to see you submitting to that boy. Hell it doesn't look natural to see a Weasley bowing to the pressure of a Malfoy either."

"All for the greater good," Kathryn said, "Or at least that's what I keep telling myself…"

"The food is here ladies, don't want to let it get cold," Scorpious said in a voice that chilled Kathryn's spine but she complied and sat down in her place next to him.

They kept the conversation light through the meal and before long they were headed back to the castle. Albus insisted that he walk Katlynn back to her house because it was the gentlemanly thing to do which left Kathryn and Scorpious to walk back to Slytherin alone.

When they reached the dungeons Scorpious stopped her, "What's with you? You've been off this whole week."

"I stopped fighting you. I thought that was what you wanted. For me to act like the lady I'm supposed to be and do as I'm told," Kathryn said.

"Around my parents and at social gatherings maybe, but you should be yourself too. I mean did you see the looks your cousin was giving me as if I'd spelled you or something," Scorpious said.

"I didn't mean for that to happen. I'm sorry," Kathryn replied.

"Now stop that!" Scorpious growled, "You wouldn't apologize for something like that. Not the you I know anyway. Did someone else spell you? My father should never have slapped you but if he's gone and cursed you I need to know."

"Don't be silly. If your father had pulled a wand on me the headmistress would have been on him in a heartbeat. Look, I was just tired of fighting you. I realized I was unfair last year and I thought I'd give it a try your way and if it still didn't work then I'd just go back to whatever I was doing before like nothing happened," Kathryn said.

"If it still didn't work?" Scorpious growled, "What do you mean by that?"

Kathryn bit her lip, "I don't know. Me being happy, you being happy, this whole mess working or coming to an end…" she said the last bit just barely under her breath in hopes he wouldn't hear.

"So you thought you'd just be the perfect bride and I wouldn't want that so you'd be free to date whomever?" Scorpious was starting to sound angry.

"It was a side thought," Kathryn admitted. She couldn't bring herself to look at him. His anger seemed to be coming off of him like heat waves now and Kathryn thought about taking her retreat but before she could take a step she felt the white hot pain of a hand colliding with her cheek.

"How dare you even think of such things!" Scorpious snarled at her. She was now on the ground with the force of the slap he'd used and couldn't help but glare up at him as she spat blood in his direction. "You're a filthy whore you know that?"

Kathryn was too stunned for a while to be able to move so she sat in the dungeon corridor for the longest few moments of her life as she contemplated what had just happened. Only when she pulled herself off the ground did she notice Albus not far away staring as if he'd been petrified. She didn't make eye contact with her cousin as she walked toward the secret entrance to the Slytherin dormitories but he caught her arm as she walked passed him.

"What in the bloody hell was that?" Albus asked.

"What was what?" Kathryn asked honestly confused as to what her cousin was talking about, after all she didn't know how much he'd seen and wasn't about to bring it up.

"Malfoy slapped you," Albus said brushing his thumb lightly over a bloody spot on her lip, "Why in the hell would you let him do that?"

Kathryn shrugged, "I honestly didn't see it coming. He's never hit me before."

"You are taking this way too lightly. I know your mother set this whole damn thing up but even she couldn't be happy with the way he's treating you, you're miserable," Albus said.

"You don't think my mother doesn't know that?" Kathryn snapped back, "No offense cousin but you're not a pureblood and so you are free from this damn life. All I can tell you is that this bloody tradition dies with me if I have to kill my husband to make it that way."

"You can't mean that. Everyone would know you killed him," Albus said.

"If I have to use the unforgivable curses I will. You know me Albus, would I lie about that?" Kathryn said quickly finding her way into the common room and up to her bed where Fey was waiting patiently for her.

In the weeks that followed Kathryn spent more time with Katlynn than Tiffany and thus spent a lot of time getting to know Amanda. If people had thought her aunt was the brightest witch of the previous age then they'd be beyond belief if they ever met Amanda. She was so brilliant that Kathryn wondered why she had been placed in Hufflepuff rather than Ravenclaw.

"It's simple really," Amanda explained one day, "I'm better at reading, writing and learning rather than actually doing things. Ravenclaws are studious but can act upon their known knowledge whereas I am not quite so good with a wand."

"I've seen you in charms class, you're plenty good," Kathryn said.

"I'm good enough that they bumped me up a year in my classes, but my temperament is still more Hufflepuff than Ravenclaw. Kind of like how your potions skills and blood lineage landed you in Slytherin and Tiffany's blood and temperament landed her in Gryffindor. Though honestly, how Dante landed himself in Ravenclaw I'll never know," Amanda said. With her point about Dante the three friends laughed, they were pretty sure that everyone who knew Dante wondered how his arse landed in Ravenclaw when his temperament seemed to provide more of a Hufflepuff or Gryffindor vibe.

Amanda studied almost constantly though, Kathryn noticed, so she kept her distance most days talking more with Katlynn. It didn't make Amanda feel left out however, more just it allowed her some space to do her studying which showed great respect and she appreciated it.

On one day in particular Katlynn and Kathryn had been out on a double date and thus had decided to do some research that her friends might not have approved of. She quietly snuck herself off to the library and pulled out books on ghosts and bloodlines in particular. She wanted to know how Tiffany's ghost could hide himself so that only her friend could see him or learn for certain if her friend was just crazy. What she found amazed her. The ghosts of the same blood of people could appear only among themselves. It had to be a strong blood connection, however. Like that between a parent and child, siblings, grandparents or uncle-aunt-niece-nephew relationship. This surprised Amanda because Tiffany was supposed to be a muggle-born witch and thus a wizard's ghost would have no reason to appear only to Tiffany.

Next she looked over the bloodline books remembering something Katlynn had mentioned in years past that Tiffany's ghost called himself the Prince Ghost. So naturally Amanda looked under the Prince bloodline where she found many missing pages but in one corner still attached to the book she saw the beginnings of an address located on the street Spin…

"That's interesting research Miss Watson," a voice sounded behind Amanda startling her to the point that she lept from her seat. When she turned to face the woman she found it to be none other than the Headmistress.

"I'm sorry Professor, I was just doing some research for a friend," Amanda said bowing her head lightly.

"Don't be sorry. All I said was that it was interesting research. What interest do you have in the Prince line, may I ask?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"Just a ghost I heard was haunting a muggle neighborhood," Amanda said hoping that she would get away without having to spill all the details.

"Well you won't find it in any books here at Hogwarts. All the recent descendants of the Prince line have been removed from these pages. Some years ago a teacher decided to be removed from history and thus tore his family from the pages of every book he could get his hands on," the professor said.

"Do you mind my asking which professor, Professor?" Amanda asked.

McGonagall let her fingers drift over the corner that Amanda had been trying to read, "His name was Severus Snape. He was a half-blood in the Prince line, his mother had left him with his muggle father and Snape never had much chance to get to know her. Sad story how he died really, but one as young as you does not need to hear such a devastating history from me if you are not aware already."

With those words the Headmistress turned and walked away leaving Amanda staring at the torn pages of the book. She'd often heard Kathryn talk about how Professor Malfoy would tell her that as good as she was she'd never be as good as the professor that had taught him. She'd said that he'd mentioned once or twice that his name had been Snape.

Did this mean that Tiffany was this past professor's daughter and not really a muggle born? Amanda wasn't really sure but at least now she had something to talk to Tiffany about if she wasn't too touchy about the subject. But with this knowledge she went to find her friend.

When she found Tiffany she was sitting outside an herb garden counting the spouts as if taking inventory. "Hey Tiffany?" Amanda asked timidly, "Are you busy?"

"Was it interesting research?" Tiffany asked startling Amanda, "About the Prince bloodline I mean."

Amanda stood dumbstruck, "How did you know?"

"I saw a conversation about an hour ago where you tell me what you've learned about my ghost. All I know is that you looked up the Prince bloodline and things about ghosts. So do tell me so I can finally hear the whole conversation what did you learn," Tiffany said continuing her inventory check.

"It seems that your ghost is the ghost of the old potions master," Amanda said.

"Well yes that I knew. I mean he's always on me about my potions skills. He's been that way since…well as long as I can remember really," Tiffany said.

"No I mean he was the professor before Malfoy," Amanda said, "His name was Severus Snape and he was a half-blood wizard in the Prince bloodline."

Tiffany's face went hard, "He says you really should stop talking."

"The only thing I don't understand is there has to be a really strong blood connection between someone and a person's ghost to be able to remain visible only to one person. With most ghosts it's either all or none," Amanda said, "But you were born into a muggle family. It just doesn't make sense."

Tiffany looked at her friend, "No I mean he really says you should stop talking or he's taking points from Hufflepuff."

"What?" Amanda asked.

"Look…I don't want to sound rude but he says he'll take points from Gryffindor if I don't say it so here it goes. You are a nosy git that should keep her nose out of other people's business. But that's coming from him not me," Tiffany said smiling apologetically at her friend.

They sat in silence for a short while before Amanda stood and headed back to Hufflepuff. Tiffany stayed a little while longer before she headed back toward the Gryffindor common room before being stopped by Albus.

"Hey, does Kathryn listen to you?" Albus asked before Tiffany had a chance to say hello.

"Sometimes, but not often, why?" Tiffany asked.

"Because I need someone to talk to her about getting mad at Malfoy. She won't take it from me and she's dead set on being submissive for a while," Albus said.

"Go ask Kat. She listens to her more than she listens to me," Tiffany said.

"Malfoy hit her," Albus said, "hard."

Tiffany looked at him for a long while, "When?" was all she said.

"Not long ago. I don't know if she got her lip looked at but it was bleeding and it looked like she was going to get quite the bruise. She was on the floor from the force of his hand," Albus said though he began to worry when Tiffany started to look angry.

After a short while Tiffany looked sadly at him, "She won't listen to me but I'll talk to her. Unfortunately this won't be the last time he hits her. Her brother may have more effect in talking with her but I wouldn't bet on it." And with those words she walked past Albus and onto the Gryffindor common room where she found Fred reading a joke book and scowling at the pages. But when she walked into the room he looked up, "What's up with you? Your hair doesn't normally go black unless you're angry."

"Albus just asked me to talk to Kathryn. He said he saw Malfoy hit her so hard she ended up on the floor," Tiffany sighed, "And nothing I can see changes how she'll react if I talk to her. Actually nothing I see changes the fact that he'll hit her again."

"He's hit her now and what a vision of the future is telling you he'll hit my sister again?" Fred growled.

"Yes a vision Weasley. What did you think a bird literally did whisper it in my ear?" Tiffany growled back.

"Calm down. I was just trying to take in all the information at once," Fred replied, "Did he say how bad she looked?"

Tiffany sighed, "No, just that she was bleeding from the mouth and that from the force of his hit it looked like she was going to be bruised pretty badly."

Fred sighed, "All because my mother wanted better for her. Though I don't really understand it because she married for love…"

"Maybe if you talked with her," Tiffany said, "I don't think I'll try since she won't listen to me but maybe you could get her to see things differently."

Fred shrugged but figured he'd try talking to his sister in the morning anyway where he could truly assess how bad she had been hit. But when the following morning came around he found himself talking to Albus and Seth about how she wouldn't leave her room for anything. She didn't want food and she didn't want to interact with people. It did seem however that one of her friends was able to convince her to come downstairs to talk to her brother.

When she came downstairs she didn't like her pity welcome party. Albus was still upset that she wouldn't defend herself, the young man she was falling in love with was a little more than angry and her brother was quite furious when he saw the blue and black markings on the side of her face.

"What?" she almost screamed at the circle around her when no one said a thing.

"You let him hit you?" was the only thing that Fred could think to say.

"I didn't let him do anything. We were having a conversation and he was angry yes but I didn't in my wildest dreams think he'd hit me!" Kathryn said.

"Katie, you're bruised," Seth said, "At least let us take you to the hospital wing to get that taken care of."

"It's a bruise Seth, it will heal. Besides I want Malfoy to see it and remember that he's the one that put a damn mark on his precious property," Kathryn snipped.

"Oh come on! Don't give him that satisfaction!" Albus piped in.

"If you're so heartbroken that it happened then maybe you should have done something to stop him Albus! You were standing how many feet away when it happened? Or did you not expect him to hit me either?" Kathryn growled.

With that Albus turned and walked away. It seemed if he was going to be insulted for telling his cousin to stand up for herself he was going to let her have her way. Fred on the other hand wasn't giving in as easily as he tried to coax his sister to say something to someone that could change things for the better.

But after talking for an hour and a half even Fred decided that he had done all he could to change his sister's mind and decided to go and give Tiffany a report as it seemed that Kathryn wasn't about to leave her bed for anything but classes. If she even decided to pull herself out for classes the following day, that was.

When he got back to the Gryffindor common room he asked one of the girls if she had seen Tiffany only to be told she'd gone out for a walk about the castle grounds after finding out that the ghost that haunted her was the old potions master. He thought about following but figured she needed her space. He felt happy for her though since it might mean that she would have a chance at a better life away from her muggle parents.

* * *

As Tiffany walked outside the Castle she felt a sort of calm growing over her. After talking with Amanda the day before Tiffany had asked her ghost if in fact anything she had said was the truth. She hadn't really been surprised that he was the old Professor Snape because she'd seen a couple pictures of him in the past and obviously seen the similarities. No, what had startled her was when she'd asked and he'd handed her a crumpled book page that had said Tiffany Negrand-Prince on the page. Her father was of the Prince bloodline as it had said on the page and her mother was also a pureblood, of which the page was so wrinkled and battered she couldn't make out the last name. The page said that they had died not long after she had been born. Her ghost, Snape, had told her after she'd read the page and its contents that her parents had been killed by a Death Eater who had escaped the Ministry for so long and had been upset with the betrayal from him against Voldemort. He had taken all the pages for his family out of any book he could get his hands on that would lead them to his brother but he had been unsuccessful even in death.

With all this shocking news, finding out that she was in fact a pureblood witch and the fact that her ghost was none other than her uncle. It struck her hard that her family, her true family anyway, was all in fact dead. Just thinking about it drove her walk right into the heart of the Forbidden Forest. She knew Snape was warning her against it but kept walking anyway as she pulled herself deeper into thought just to drown out his voice.

She was angry that he'd kept who was a secret so long and was upset that he had known that she was a pureblood but hadn't decided to mention it until someone found out his secret. She knew he had done it to protect her but it hadn't done any good with her parents, they were dead after all and it didn't really have a point being kept from her once she started attending Hogwarts where she was told she would be the safest she'd been in a while. But still she couldn't help but find a happy spot somewhere inside that her muggle parents weren't her actual parents and she could therefore take her leave of her own free will and not have to wait until she turned seventeen.

When she had finally decided to talk to Snape and forgive him for keeping the information from her for so long she realized she had no clue where in the forbidden forest she was. The trees didn't look in any way familiar and when she looked a little ways in the distance she realized why Snape had been trying to warn her from the area. Not far ahead of her was a group of werewolves, which was confusing considering it wasn't a full moon, in fact it was a new moon that night. And that was when she really observed every detail in her surroundings taking account that when she'd left the castle it had been daylight and she hadn't been walking all too long but the sky was now dark enough for her to see the stars and the woods around her was turning a sort of eerie blue from the starlight.

"What have we here?" a soothing feminine voice sounded behind Tiffany making her jump none the less. "A spy perhaps, hoping to learn what secrets I have in store for Merlin's most precious school?"

Tiffany shook her head trying to ignore the things Snape was saying. She felt petrified though the woman standing before her looked beautiful and young without any threatening look to her besides the pack of werewolves lined up behind her.

"What is your name my dear?" the woman asked.

Somehow Tiffany found her voice as if by force to answer, "Tiffany…"

"Well Tiffany you are very brave to come out to the woods tonight. It looks as if you won't be leaving though. My plans are not yet quite in action so I can't have you going back to tell people that Morgana Le Fey is back from the grave. Make peace with whatever you hold dear little one," and with that Tiffany felt a pull somewhere toward her soul only to have Snape step between her and Morgana.

The sound of thunder crashed through the woods as the werewolves scattered leaving Morgana looking a mixture of shocked, pleased as well as angry as she stood before before Tiffany, who was holding her middle as if she'd just been stabbed, and a huddled figure cloaked in black. And not long after Morgana had taken her leave did Tiffany collapse from exhaustion.

When she woke up in the Hospital Wing a while later she noticed that there were holiday decorations up and wondered how close to Christmas it had come. It hadn't been long off when she had discovered who she was but it had to have been at least two or three weeks before the holiday break. When she tried to sit up she noticed the ends of her hair curling up around her on the pillow in white strands and hurried to look for a mirror only to find her hair had gone stark white with hints of silver. She thought maybe it had been the shocked emotion seeping through but when she tried to change the color by sheer force of will it failed her like a spell cast wrong.

She tried shifting other parts of her with plenty of luck but in multiple attempts she was not able to gain her hair color back. And when she finally looked to her surroundings she noticed her ghost laid up in a bed next to her but he looked much less translucent than he had the last time she had seen him.

"Hey you're awake," Kathryn said walking through the large set of double doors with a large bouquet of flowers, "I was worried about you. Two whole weeks you've been out!"

"Do you know what happened?" Tiffany asked noticing that her friend was still recovering from the bruise on her cheek that she had seen in a vision was there.

"Only that that guy brought you in from the Forbidden Forest griping about how you never listen even when it's for your own good and claiming to be Severus Snape," Kathryn replied, "Last I heard Severus Snape was dead in the Great Battle of Hogwarts."

"He was," Tiffany said, "He was my ghost."

"Was being the operative term there. He's not a ghost anymore," Kathryn replied, "He hasn't been awake since you were settled in here though. Odd, but I suppose if he's a ghost he didn't really sleep for the twenty-three years he was dead did he? Well, no matter. Everyone is talking about you. secret's out I guess that you're a pureblood. Good to know I won't be the only one miserable at the Christmas ball this year."

"Christmas ball?" Tiffany grumbled, "You mean that thing that the Malfoys put on every year?"

"Yes," Kathryn replied, "Sorry but they've sort of made it your welcome back to high society party this year. I'm just glad the focus won't be on my doomed relationship this time."

"Can we make it that way? I don't want to spend a whole holiday with a bunch of stuck up purebloods that hated me my whole life up until now. If they don't still hate me now," Tiffany mumbled.

"No, you'll be fine. It's just one party and then you can go back to doing whatever," Kathryn replied, "Don't worry. It'll be fun."


End file.
